Hojo Natsuki turned off the screen and silently repeated several times, "It's nothing, don't be angry. It's nothing, don't be angry..." He hypnotized himself and quickly sorted out his emotions. When he turned it on again, he was able to examine the tadpoles calmly.
After the initial shock and anger of being betrayed faded away, looking back at the tadpole photo, it wasn't actually that unsightly.
Although it is a black ball without any facial features, the tadpole itself is quite cute. It is even cuter when you think that it will grow up to be a lyre frog.
This little silver hair, this big elastic head, this swaying tail... Qin Tadpole is amazing! I want Qin Tadpole!
Hojo Natsuki successfully convinced himself and pressed the [Flip] button next to the postcard. There was another series of fancy transformation effects, and this double-sided postcard finally revealed its mysterious other side to him.
Why
What appeared was not a little frog, but a little boy in beige pajamas.
The little boy had silver hair and green eyes. His chubby face was wrinkled and the green eye mask was pushed up to his forehead.
In order to cater to the camera, he supported his chin with one hand and held up a frog-printed pillow with the other hand. He made a perfunctory expression of suppressed dissatisfaction, as if he had just been woken up from his sleep, and impatience was written all over his body.
Hojo Natsuki was stunned for a few seconds, not understanding why a pet game would suddenly give out a character postcard, but he accepted it well, mainly because the young 'Gin' on the postcard was quite cute.
Since it is a human sculpture, we might as well call it a "formation".
He thought about it. After all, games rely on novelty to retain players, so it is reasonable to have all kinds of tricks. Nowadays, games and secondary creations like to animalize people, so why can't we do the opposite and anthropomorphize animals? The little frog should also have such rights.
If Qinwa was a real boy, he would probably look like this when he was young. He never liked to smile, and always had a puffy, chubby face, staring at people in a self-righteous and ferocious way. He must have few friends, and his hobbies were incompatible with his peers. He hated listening to adults preaching, and liked to make his own decisions on everything.
Hojo Natsuki looked at it for a long time, and then accepted the Kotokodama... double-sided postcard with satisfaction.
He looked through [Limited Receiving Mail] over and over again but couldn't find the triggering rules. It seemed that there was no need to spend money and whether or not one could receive new mails depended entirely on luck. Of course, the possibility could not be ruled out that his current level was too low and he had not yet unlocked the gameplay related to [Limited Receiving Mail].
Hojo Natsuki also recalled another function that the customer service compensated him for but he had forgotten about: [Simulated Management].
The icon was extremely finely crafted, which left a great impression on him. However, since he was not very interested in business simulation, he was too lazy to click it before. But now that he remembered it, he decided to take a look.
There is even a simple opening animation.
An old crow was lying on a hospital bed, coughing so hard that it even vomited blood. "Rum, I don't have much time left."
It looked like not only his time was running out, but he was actually so weak that he would die in the next second.
Another frog was guarding its bedside, with a serious look on its face. The system cursor above its head flashed, showing its name: [Rumquat]
Rumquat has a bald head and is a frog but has rabbit teeth. No matter how Hojo Natsuki looks at it, he thinks it looks very ugly. His little harp frog is the cutest.
"Boss, don't say that." Rumquat said, "I..."
The dying crow gave his last words: "Unfortunately, the research is still in its infancy. Everything has just begun. From now on, the organization will be handed over to you. As for the successor, I will announce it when the time is right. He is trustworthy and will lead the organization to continue to move forward..."
Rumquat: “Yes.”
Crow: "I want to rest."
Rumquaw replied: "Then I won't bother you for now. I'll come back tomorrow."
The rabbit-toothed frog hopped out of the ward, and the old crow slowly turned his head and looked out the window. The camera followed his gaze and zoomed out. The sky was high and the clouds were clear. The autumn wind was bleak. There was only a half-yellow leaf hanging on the dead tree outside the window.
The old crow coughed twice, and his dark face revealed emotions of struggle and pain, with cloudy pupils.
it
A pale prototype bubble frame appeared above his head, representing the inner activities of the little animal. The old crow thought painfully: [When this leaf falls, my life will also come to an end. I am so unwilling... ]
Hojo Natsuki immediately tapped the leaf on the screen, trying to pull it down, but the dead leaf couldn't bear the force and fell from the branch with a slight touch.
Xia Shu smiled casually and looked up to see the old crow's reaction.
He was suddenly startled. How could there be an old crow on the hospital bed
There was only a square box with a gray crow's portrait printed on it. The style was quite similar to the wooden box that people in "PUBG" turned into after being killed.
Hojo Natsuki was shocked: “?”
ah
As soon as the leaf landed, the crow was killed? What do you mean by saying it? (Tactical retreat)
This old thing is so easy to deal with. Is it really dead when it is said to be dead
A flashing cursor pointing downwards appears on the photo box, which is the system reminding the player to open the box.
Hojo Natsuki thought: "This is not good..."
What if after opening it, there are ashes inside? Wouldn't that be disrespectful to the old crow who just passed away? Even cyber life needs to be respected, right
Although Xia Shu was thinking about it, he didn't slow down at all when opening the box. His morality only remained at the ideological level.
Fortunately, there was no ashes or anything like that in the box. Instead, a golden parchment scroll popped out. The parchment scroll was spread out, and the title was clearly written in large characters: [Will]
[will]
[My name is Karasuma OO. For decades, I have devoted my life to the organization I founded. Unfortunately, my life is too short. There are too many things I want to do, but too little time.
___Natsuki___, I believe that you can inherit my legacy and lead our organization to the other side of our dream.
Go ahead, I have paved the way for you. It depends on your choice how to proceed.
We be both of God and the Devil.
Since we are trying to raise the dead against the stream of time.
—Karasuma OO]
I see. "Kasumu OO" is the name of the old crow. Just like O in Jedi who robs the loot and picks up equipment, he opened the old crow's box and inherited this guy's legacy. This setting is quite interesting.
"The Death of Old Crow" is the premise of the story of [Business Simulation]. A built-in mini-game has so many tricks, including character modeling and business simulation. The reset of the Traveling Frog is really lively.
[Congratulations on obtaining [Karasuma's Will]!]
[[Kasumu] committed many evil deeds during his lifetime and had a huge fortune under his name. The person who receives [Kasumu's will] will inherit his business and legacy.]
[[Karasuma] has entrusted the organization to you. Next, please use your wisdom to make your camp bigger and stronger! ]
[Remember, your enemies are everywhere, be careful!]
The initial money and assets inherited by the player keep popping up on the screen, and the game is very generous in giving them out.
[Obtain initial capital of 100,000…]
[Obtained 1 Chemical Research Institute, 1 Intermediate Pharmaceutical Research Institute…]
[Obtained 1 securities company, 1 tobacco and alcohol company...]
Hojo Natsuki jumped quickly and the interface finally stopped at a verdant pond. In the middle of the pond was a golden frog statue, which was splashing water out. Several small frogs with different costumes were squatting in front of the pond, chirping and cooing, as if they were discussing something.
These frogs are his little brothers, right
Please give your organization a name!
[_______________________________]
It fits the theme of the game quite well. The first pet the player draws is a frog, and the player’s little brother in the business simulation is also a frog.
Hojo Natsuki didn't even think about it and quickly typed: [Frog Organization]
He didn't think his naming was inappropriate at all. We were all frogs, so of course we should call it the Frog Organization! Is there any more appropriate name than this
System: [Please...]
The system wanted to continue to guide him through the initial settings of the simulated business, but a flashing red dot popped up below the player's avatar, representing the Qinwa logo. Hojo Natsuki was immediately attracted and switched back from the simulated business section.
It was Qinwa who sent him the message.
[Gin]：Where did you get it from
what
He saw the frog holding a photo album in one paw and a mobile phone in the other, and he immediately understood: it was asking about the photo album.
Hojo Natsuki thought: "What a fool! I am a player. Not to mention photo albums, I can even buy nuclear bombs if I have money. What's there to ask?"
He couldn't tell Gua this directly, so he just said: [I have super powers]
The frog was silent for a moment, as if it remembered those strange behaviors, and accepted this explanation.
It sat alone on the bed, holding the photo album, as if it wanted to say something, but couldn't because of face or some other reason. It made him inexplicably think of the unhappy face of the little boy in his childhood.
The character of the frog is too three-dimensional, like a real person. Hojo Natsuki is not very good at dealing with people who are accustomed to silence. They say one thing and mean another, and nine out of ten things are hidden. If you want to figure out their thoughts, you can only analyze their positions and behaviors, which often fails to get the point.
But he strangely understood Qinwa's unspoken meaning and wrote: [My ability is limited. If there are any relevant photos or other things, I will give them to you.]
When Qinwa saw the message, he immediately put the photo album in his arms on the bedside, trying to show with his actions that he didn't want it and tried to distance himself from it.
[Gin]：Oh.
It behaved quite calmly, but unfortunately the system's reports were far more honest and reliable than its actions.
[[Qin Frog] Favorability 5]
[[Qin Frog] Current Favorability -91]
Hojo Natsuki left the screen of his mobile phone on, went to the bathroom to brush his teeth, slowly changed into his plush slippers, and then found that there was another message from Qinwa.
[Gin]：What exactly do you want
[Gin]: My body
Xia Shu: “????”
What? Has the frog not given up the idea of going into the sea? ? (Roaring)
How can you let yourself degenerate like this, Xiaogua? !
He replied righteously: [What are you thinking! I won't let you do that! ]
[Natsuki]: What are you thinking! I won't let you do that!
Kurosawa Jin was stunned for a moment. After a few seconds, he realized that the other party had misunderstood him and pulled the corner of his lip speechlessly.
His original intention was actually to revive the dead.
Kurosawa Jin couldn't think of any reason why a ghost like 'Natsuki', who was almost omnipotent, would target him, other than for the purpose of borrowing or seizing his body.
[Natsuki]: What's the matter with your body? I just touched your paws and belly at most!
Kurosawa: “…”
It could also be a simple perversion.
But these crazy and foolish words could not dispel Kurosawa Jin's doubts at all, but instead made him fall into even darker and more chaotic suspicions.
He knew nothing about Natsuki, but she was able to produce old photos of him and his mother. The huge gap in ability and information between him and Natsuki made Kurosawa Jin feel uncomfortable.
Kurosawa hates looking up to others the most.
[Beep—]
The phone vibrated slightly.
Kurosawa Jin had just started using this phone and didn't know how to set up hidden messages, so a few messages from Natsuki popped up on the screen unlock interface.
[Natsuki]: If you feel guilty accepting my gift,
[Natsuki]: Then stop hating me so much.
[Natsuki]：There are no other requirements for now.
Kurosawa Jinshin
Look cold and indifferent.
He still didn't believe it.
He opened the communication app. The overall interface design was much more sophisticated than that on a flip phone, but the functions were similar.
Swipe to the left, and there are still four function keys: [Send Postcard], [Send Photo], [Mall], and [Natsuki's Wish List].
Of course, Kurosawa Jin would not take the initiative to send a letter unless the other party asked for it.
He hesitated for half a second between [Mall] and [Natsuki's Wish List], and chose the latter with more characters.
[Natsuki's Wish List]
[Fulfilling Natsuki's wishes will help improve your relationship~]
[Natsuki has quite a lot of material conditions, so his wishes are mostly spiritual, please work hard to fulfill them~]
The first one is -
[Gin likes me]
Kurosawa Jin was slightly surprised. He pursed his lips and unconsciously clenched his fingers together. He felt a little flustered, which he himself did not even notice.
Then, looking down, the second item on the wish list is...
[I want Gin to go to jail, wear striped clothes, and not go anywhere, haha! ]
Kurosawa Jin: “… … …”
(End of this chapter)